


A Very Williams-McGarrett Holiday

by simplyn2deep



Series: 20/20 'verse [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Arguing, Christmas, Community: 1_million_words, F/M, Family, Gen, M/M, Santa Claus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 10:29:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8841097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/pseuds/simplyn2deep
Summary: Steve and Danny deal with the possibility of not having Grace for Christmas and how that will affect Josie and Stephanie.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tkeyla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tkeyla/gifts).



> **Author's Note 1:** This is written for Tkeyla for the 2016 Swap of Joy at [](http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=1_million_words)[1_million_words](http://www.livejournal.com/community/1_million_words/).
> 
> I hope you like it.
> 
>  **Author's Note 2:** This story went through SEVERAL incarnations before I decided on this version, and to be honest, I don’t think I’m exactly happy with it. Also, ‘Papa’ is in reference to the friend Steve helped in the first Twenty Tiny Fingers, Twenty Tiny Toes story. Steve and Danny have been very open and honest, as much as they can be for how old the girls are in this, with the girls about how they came to be. Steve is Daddy, Danny is Danno (of course). This might be jossed (as much as it can be since it’s an AU lol) by the time the H50 Christmas ep airs on Dec 16.

It all started with a letter after a visit to see the Santa in the mall.

_Dear Santa,_

_We are Josie and Stephanie Phillips Williams-McGarrett and we are 7 years old. We are writing this letter to you because the only thing we want for Christmas is for our big sissy, Grace, to spend Christmas with us._

_Our sissy, Grace, isn't really our sissy, like Papa wasn't really our Papa, but she's always been there for us, doing things that Daddy and Danno can't because they aren't girls and don't know about it. Grace doesn't get to spend Christmas with us this year because she's with her mom and brother, Charlie, who is our best friend._

_Grace says that she will see us a couple of days after Christmas, but it just won't be the same as her being with us on Christmas morning._

_Please, Santa, let Grace, and Charlie if he wants, be with us for Christmas morning. She can be with her mom and stepdad after._

_Thank you._

_Josie and Stephanie  
7 years old_

Actually, it started when Rachel informed Danny that she would be taking Grace to Las Vegas to spend Christmas with her, Stan and Charles and that Danny would be allowed to have her after Christmas for New Year's. To say that Danny was okay with this was an understatement. He was livid. He missed having Thanksgiving with Grace, but that time it was his daughter asking to spend the holiday with her mother, stepfather and brother.

The letter to Santa. It was cute, if heartbreaking. Josie and Stephanie really idolized Grace and loved spending with her and Charlie.

"Danno!" the call came from upstairs, "Can you take us back to the mall?"

"First of all," Danny began as he walked to the foot of the stairs, "what's the rule about yelling in the house?"

Two heads hesitantly peaked through the bars of the banister on the second floor. "Not to do it unless it was an emergency," Stephanie said.

"Sorry, Danno." Josie added. "So can you take us?"

Danny made a show of pretending to think about their request. "Hmm, I don't know. Why do you need to go back?"

"We wrote a letter to Santa and need to make sure he gets it," Stephanie replied. "I know that Santa in the mall isn't the real one, but maybe he can get the letter to real Santa."

"Why don't we wait for your Daddy to get home and we'll go out for dinner and stop by the mall so you can drop off the letter," Danny suggested.

Twin squeals came from the girls. "Thank you, Danno!" they both exclaimed as they ran back to their room.

+=+=+=+=+

Later that day, Steve came home laden with bags from his trip California. He spent time at the Naval Base in San Diego before driving up to Los Angeles to see Mary and Joan for a few days as they wouldn't be able to fly out due to Mary's work and Joan wanting to spend time with Mary's new boyfriend's nieces and nephews.

"Anyone home?" Steve called out as he pushed open the door. "I'm back and have gifts..."

"Daddy!" came a call from the kitchen and soon the sound of bare feet running across the hardwood floor his direction could be heard. "you're back early!"

Steve pushed the door closed and quickly set his bags down to scoop up Josie in his arms. "I miss you guys so much that I got an earlier flight."

"Yay! Now we can go to the mall!" Josie cheered. "Danno said we could go when you got home...and now you're home."

“Whoa, Josie-girl!” Steve said as he placed her on the floor. “What’s this about going to the mall?” He looked around the room, “and where is Danno and your sister?”

“We’re over here, babe.” Danny called out. He peeked his head through the open kitchen door and grinned. “I’d give you a hug, but my hands are kind of busy with cookie dough.”

Steve laughed and followed Josie to the kitchen where he greeted Stephanie, who was covered in flour with a smudge of egg on her cheek, then gave Danny a kiss.

“How is it that Stephanie is the dirtiest one of the three of you?” Steve asked with a grin.

Danny rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I haven’t a clue, but she does take after you.”

This time Steve rolled his eyes as he grabbed a paper towel, wet it and began to wipe off some of Stephanie’s face.

“How was the trip?” Danny asked. He continued to work with the cookie dough that Josie left behind in favor of clinging to Steve now that he had returned.

“It was something else,” Steve sighed. “The highlight, of course was spending time with Mary and Joan. I got to briefly meet Pete…”

Danny stopped what he was doing to look at Steve. “THE Pete?” He grinned. “What was he like?”

Steve shrugged. “He was nice enough from the five minutes I was able to speak to him before he had to leave. He got called into work.”

Danny nodded his head. He was well aware of what it was like as a cop and being the spouse of a Navy Reservist. “How was Mary?”

Steve grinned this time. “She’s doing really well. Really sorry she’s not able to come out for Christmas, but they were invited to Pete’s family’s house for their festivities. Mary said she thinks he’s going to propose…”

“Not without talking with you first,” Danny exclaimed. Steve laughed at Danny’s outrage. “I’m serious. I hope you told Mary that he needed to get to know us…”

“Really Danny?” Steve asked. “You don’t think I checked this guy out the minute Mary told me about him and that she was serious about him?”

“I know you did, but there’s you checking about the guy and us, as her big brothers, getting to know the man.” Danny reasoned

“I’d like to be there when you tell Mary that,” Steve replied.

Danny was about to speak when he wisely closed his mouth. He knew he’d come across as a jerk, or worse with Mary if he suggested something like that to her. Instead, Danny replied with, “I’d still like for the guy to come out here one time when Mary and Joan do...or take some time off the next time we’re out there so that we can properly meet him. I mean, they’ve been dating for nearly two years and we’ve never met him...not even during any of the skype calls.”

Steve grinned more and nodded his head. Secretly he was pleased with how protected Danny was of Mary and Joan. Because of that, Steve was able to lessen the amount of overbearing big brother he had to be and could just be there for his sister and niece.

+=+=+=+=+

Steve, Danny and the girls continued to make cookies before taking a break to see what gifts Steve bought back from his trip. They took the time to put the wrapped Christmas gifts under the tree and gleefully took the other trinkets up to their room to play with. Once Steve and Danny were alone, Danny was able to properly welcome Steve back home.

“So…” Steve began, “what’s this about a trip to the mall? I thought you guys already went?”

Danny sighed. “We did. But after they remembered Grace wasn’t going to be here for Christmas, they were sad and wanted to write a letter to Santa about it.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “They wrote a letter to Santa about what, exactly?”

“Getting Grace to spend Christmas with us instead of Rachel,” Danny replied. “It would be a Christmas miracle if that happened.”

Steve nodded. He remembered the argument that happened over that when Rachel told Danny about the change of plans. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything he could do about it except to make their little Christmas time special.

“Right. So letter to Santa and it has to be taken to the mall, why?”

“The girls say they know mall Santa isn’t real, but that maybe he can get the letter to the REAL one.”

Steve smiled. He loved that the girls still believed in Santa and that they indulged Danny in him dressing up as the jolly man. He knew there would come a day when they were no longer into that, but he hoped it wasn’t any time soon.

+=+=+=+=+

After a fun-filled trip to the mall, and to Kamekona’s shrimp truck for dinner, the family returned home, exhausted, but content. Steve took over the girls’ bedtime routine so that Danny could sort and package up the cookies. Once that was finished, he joined Steve in putting the girls to bed.

Usually Steve and Danny would spend a bit of time together in bed before going to sleep, but they were completely worn out – Steve from all of the traveling and dealing with the girls, and Danny from having to parent both girls by himself while Steve was away for the week, that they fell right into bed and were asleep within minutes.

Days later, the girls were still buzzing from giving their letter to the mall Santa. They were convinced they would get their Christmas wish because they'd been really good, according to them, and only got in trouble once at school, but that was for sticking up for one of their friends, so it was somewhat okay.

While making dinner, Steve heard his phone vibrating on the counter where he placed it. Sighing, he picked it up hoping that he and Danny weren't being called in for a case.

“McGarrett,” he said without looking at the caller ID.

“Uncle Steve?” the voice on the other end timidly asked.

Steve crinkled his brow, pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the screen to see who was calling.

“I think he's there...” Steve could hear the voice say.

Steve put the phone back to his ear and spoke, “Hello?” Steve paused, “Gracie? Charlie?”

“Hey, Uncle Steve,” Grace said with a sniff. “Sorry that Charlie called you. I told him he didn't have to.”

Instantly on alert with Grace’s sniffing and knowing that it was Charlie who called, he knew something had to be wrong.

“What’s up Gracie?” Steve asked as he turned off the pilot on the stove as to not burn what he was cooking. He knew the meal would likely be a lost cause after his phone call, but that didn’t matter.

“Mom, Danno and Stan are arguing,” Grace said. “I don’t want to spend Christmas in Vegas and Stan said it was okay and that it wasn’t fair of mom to force me since I spent Thanksgiving with them.”

 _‘So that’s why Danny tore out of here so fast,’_ Steve thought to himself.

"...then mom yelled some things at Stan, and Danno yelled at her and everyone has been yelling and no one cares what I think!" Grace finished with her own yell.

Steve wanted nothing more than to go over there and take Grace and Charles away from their yelling parents, but there was nothing he could do without causing more unnecessary problems.

"Oh, Gracie," Steve said with his own sigh. He'd hope that everyone would have gotten past the yelling stage of their relationship and family, but it seemed that he was wrong. "How long has this been going on?"

"Danno's been here a few hours and they only stopped yelling when Charlie yelled at them to stop and ran from the room crying. I've been up in my room since my mom sent me here for yelling at her." Grace paused, "I just want to spend Christmas with you, Danno, Jo and Steph and mom's making a big deal about it."

Steve took a deep breath and was about to respond when he heard talking in the background. He couldn't tell who it was, but from the shuffling noises and continued sniffing, Steve could only guess.

"Uncle Steve. I have to go. Stan wants to talk to me." Grace said somberly.

"Okay, sweetie," Steve said. "I'll talk to you later."

No sooner had Steve ended the call with Grace, than his phone started to vibrate again. "Hey Danno..." Steve answered.

"I'm bring Grace home with me tonight," Danny said without greeting. "I know this kind of puts a kink in our plans..."

"No it doesn't." Steve stated, "I'm happy she'll be with us for Christmas and so will the girls. I just wish it didn't come at the cost of the three of you arguing in front of her and Charlie."

Danny knew better than to ask how Steve knew what happened. That ship had long since sailed, right along with Charlie not having to see his parents fighting like they did earlier.

"What about Charles?" Steve asked. "He was the one who actually called and he sounded pretty scared about everything."

"Stan and Charles will be going to see his parents and Rachel...well I don't know. She left out of here pretty pissed about the matter...felt that Stan and I were ganging up on her and trying to take the kids from her for the holidays."

Steve couldn't roll his eyes hard enough at that. "Bull. Grace is at an age where she should be allowed to decide where she wants to go for Christmas. I think she's done a pretty good job of splitting time between us and Rachel."

"I know babe, but that's not how Rachel sees it." Danny commented. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. Maybe you can tell the girls now so that get that excitement out now before bombarding Grace when we get back?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Steve agreed. "Maybe pick up something for dinner? What I was making is kind of a lost cause after I stopped when Charlie called."

"Sure. I'll get something from Kamekona on the way home and maybe something from Liliha Bakery for dessert."

"Great, I'll see you later." Steve ended the call and pulled out the dishes that they would need and called the girls to come down and set the table. He also figured it would be a good time to fills them in on Grace coming home with Danny since they weren't expecting to see her until after Christmas.

"Hey girls, I need to talk to you about something," Steve began as he handed over the forks to Josie and plastic cups to Stephanie. "You know how Grace was going to spend Christmas with her mom, Stan and Charlie?"

"Yeah. It sucks," Josie replied and Stephanie nodded her head in agreement.

"Well plans have changed and Grace is going to spend Christmas with us, after all." Steve couldn't remember the last time he heard the dining room get so quiet so fast.

"Really daddy?" Stephanie asked. "Sissy's coming to us?" quickly followed by Josie yelling, "Santa got us our Christmas gift!"

Steve nodded his head and gave them a small smile. "But Grace might be a little sad when she gets here with Danno."

Josie stopped yelling and her eyes went impossibly wide at that. "Doesn't she want to spend Christmas with us?"

"Of course she does!" Steve exclaimed as he pulled his daughter to him in a hug. "But she said that she got into an argument with her mom about it. You know that Grace doesn't want to make anyone upset, but she really wanted to be with us. So if she looks to be sad, that's why. She'll start to feel better soon, though."

+=+=+=+=+

Danny returned home, with Grace and what looked like enough bags for a month. Steve, who met him at the door, could tell some were food and the others were gifts. Steve took the bags of food to the dining room while Danny placed the gifts in front of the tree.

"How's Grace?" Steve asked when Danny joined him.

Danny shrugged. "She's in the car right now talking with Charlie. He was still upset when we left. He doesn't understand when Rachel was being so mean. His words."

Steve nodded. He didn't understand either but was grateful that they would have Grace. For how long, he didn't want to think about. "I told the girls about her coming. They were excited and also sad that Grace is sad. I told them she'd feel better in no time."

"Danno! Where's Grace?" Stephanie asked as she walked into the dining room carefully holding a pitcher of tea.

"She'll be coming inside in a minute. She was on the phone with her brother."

"Oh, okay." Stephanie said as she placed the pitcher on the table and ran back to the kitchen. "Josie, let's go get Gracie!" A couple of minutes later the girls ran out of the kitchen and to the front door calling out Grace's name.

"What's going to happen now?" Steve asked once he was sure the girls were out of hearing range be he could hear them outside talking to Grace.

"I honestly don't know. Stan and I decided we needed to do what was best for our kids. He said that he and Rachel had been arguing more and he knew that Charlie had seen and heard a lot of it in the past. He assured me he wasn't going to let Rachel try to take Grace from me again like she tried before."

"That's good...not the arguing, but that he's on your side when it comes to Grace. I guess this will be our number one priority in the new year. Sorting out whatever is going on with Rachel and making sure it doesn't affect Grace too much more."

Danny nodded his head in agreement. They decided there would be no more talk of it until after the holiday as they had their little family for Christmas and that was more than they were expecting.


End file.
